It's official: Purbeck is the best rural place to live in the South West

It's official: Purbeck is the best rural place to live in the South West

PURBECK has been named the best rural place to live in the South West.

The area was placed 15th nationally in the latest Halifax 2018 Rural Areas Quality of Life Survey.

It was one of just two places in Dorset to make it into the list.

West Dorset was placed second best in the South West and 29th overall across the country.

The overall winner was the Orkney Islands, with Rutland in the East Midlands in second place, followed by Wychavon in the West Midlands, Winchester and Waverley in the South East.

The annual study looks at aspects of life including employment, education as well as social and environmental factors to make the findings.

The Orkney Islands kept the top spot after scoring well on employment levels, average spend per pupil on education, low anxiety levels, low crime rates, low primary class sizes and consistently high scores in life satisfaction and happiness.

Residents in Rutland have some of the biggest homes in rural Britain, with an average of 6.4 habitable rooms, Halifax said.

The North East of England failed to feature in Halifax’s top 50, with Northumberland ranked at number 95.

Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax, said: “With strong education and employment levels, low crime rates and residents loving life, not to mention breath-taking wide-open spaces, the Orkney Islands have retained the crown of Britain’s best rural place to live.”

Looking at how rural quality of life varies across the country, he said rural areas in the South East receive higher weekly earnings, while those in the East Midlands have larger property sizes.

Ipsoregulated

This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Editors' Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then please contact the editor here. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can contact IPSO here